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On 6 August 1926, Gertrude Ederle, at just 20 years of age, became the first woman to swim the English Channel.At the same time, she also set a new record time of 14 hours and 39 minutes for swimming the Channel – her record stood for 24 years.Gertrude was an amazing woman who, despite suffering from deafness from an early age, achieved some wonderful things in life, including the winning of a gold medal at the 1924 Olympics in Paris.To celebrate her historic feat, here…

Franz Liszt, the virtuoso pianist and composer, died in Bayreuth on 31 July 1886, aged 74.The two newspaper reports below (published in early August 1886), offer a fascinating picture of Liszt’s last hours and also an overview of his life as a genius musician.The second report entitled,  ‘Revelations About Lizst’, is more gossipy in tone and provides a brief summary of his troubles with Wagner as well as Liszt’s spiritual struggles.Manchester Evening News – Tuesday 03 August 1886Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL…

In Montevideo on 30 July 1930, Uruguay defeated Arentina 4-2 to win the first ever football World Cup.Included below are two newspaper stories from 31 July 1930 that report on this historic football match.In the headline to the first report, it says that 50 MPs attended the match. Hmm, we presume that the writer means honourable members of the Uruguyan parliament, not Westminster.We have to confess that we’re a bit baffled by this reference to MPs. If anyone can confirm which parliament these…

In Munich in July 1937, Hitler opened the ‘House of German Art’.All the exhibits in the new building were officially approved by the Nazi Party. Indeed, Hitler himself threw out many paintings which fell short of the standard required by the National Socialist Party.Here are three newspaper reports from July 1937 which provide a fascinating insight into this most sinister of art exhibitions.Dundee Courier – Monday 19 July 1937Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000564/19370719/128/0007…

On 28 July 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.The declaration of war was made after Serbia rejected the terms in an ultimatum sent to them by Austria on July 23, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungary throne, had been assassinated by Serbian student, Gavrilo Princip, in Sarajevo.Here is a newspaper report published the day after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.Discover more history…

On 27 July 1794 during the ‘Reign of Terror’, the National Convention in Paris ordered the arrest of Maximilien de Robespierre.When was was eventually captured Robespierre attemped to kill himself with a pistol, but only succeeded in wounding his jaw.On 28 July 1794, Robespierre was guillotined the Place de la Revolution, along with his brother, Augustin, and 12 others – there had been no trial of Robespierre or the others.Here is a newspaper story, published in August 1794, that reports on the arrest and…

‘Weeping crowds stood all night in the rain outside the presidential palace.’Eva (aka Evita) Peron died from cancer in Buenos Aires on 26 July 1952, aged only 33.Eva Peron was very much a champion of the people – hence the massive outpouring of national grief at her very early death.To mark the day, here is a newspaper story that reports on her death and also provides a very interesting summary of her life.Dundee Courier – Monday 28 July 1952Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd.…

On 25 July 1909, Louis Bleriot made history by flying over the Channel in an airplane designed and built by himself.The historic flight took 36 minutes and 30 seconds, and in the heavy landing at Dover, Bleriot damaged the plane’s undercarriage and also broke the propeller. Thankfully, Bleriot was unhurt.To mark this momentous achievement, here is a newspaper report on Bleriot’s flight, that was published the day after Bleriot landed in England.Evening Telegraph – Monday 26 July 1909Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created…

On 24 July 1883, Captain Matthew Webb, the first man to swim the English Channel, drowned in the Whirlpool Rapids at Niagara River, below the Falls.To mark the sad day, here are two newspaper stories from July 1883 that report on Webb’s drowning, including a report of Captain Webb’s thoughts on how he would successfully perform the swim.Chelmsford Chronicle – Friday 27 July 1883Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000225/18830727/017/0004Nottingham Evening Post – Thursday 26 July 1883Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL…

To celebrate the birth of a son to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, we thought it would interesting to see how the newspapers reported the birth of Queen Victoria’s first child.So included below is a fascinating newspaper report on the birth of Victoria, Princess Royal, on 21 November 1840.We especially enjoyed reading about the royal nursery, royal baby clothes and the royal cradle.We were also struck by the use of the word ‘accouchement’ in the newspaper reports on…